98 
Report on the Trials of Sheaf-Binders 
the next morning. The prospect from that excellent hostelry, 
the Clifton Down Hotel, on Monday morning was anything but 
encouraging, for, though not actually raining, heavy clouds 
obscured the sun, and to the uninitiated it looked more like rain 
than fine. About 9, however, a break occurred and the sun 
appeared, and so rapid was the drying action of sun and wind, 
that by noon the crops were tolerably dry, and the ground, 
thanks to its light porous nature, was actually able to carry the 
machines without their clogging. Our Steward, Mr. Sanday, 
who was indefatigable in his energy and whose excellent arrange- 
ments tended not a little to the successful result, had the 
respective fields measured and lotted out on the Friday and 
Saturday, chiefly in half-acre plots, so that no time was lost 
in getting to work when once the conditions were suitable. 
It will be remembered that at Liverpool the machines entered 
for trial were impounded by the Society from the conclusion of 
the Show until the trials took place. This was felt to be some- 
what hard, especially upon novelties, as further improvements 
were precluded. On this occasion a different policy was pur- 
sued. Exhibitors were allowed to remove their machines, on 
depositing with the Secretary a cheque for 50/., to be returned 
if they fulfilled conditions, but forfeited if they failed to come 
to the scratch, and with this proviso all the machines shown at 
Bristol were ordered by the Stewards for trial, whether so entered 
or not. It is only fair to state that neither Messrs. J. and F. 
Howard's nor the " Johnston Harvester " Company's machines 
were entered for trial, and that both firms were somewhat re- 
luctant to exhibit their machines in the field. 
When the Judges reached the scene of action, on Monday 
morning about 11.30, they were disappointed to find that 
although lots had been drawn for seven machines for a trial 
in oats only three were actually prepared for work, viz., 
McCormick's, shown by Waite, Huggins, Burnell, and Co., Mr. 
W. A. Wood's, and Messrs. Howard's, the representatives of the 
latter by no means confident of being able to work, as though 
the binding mechanism appeared efficient, the elevators did not 
properly bring up the grain. However, they cheerfully com- 
plied with our request that they should try, and a piece of ground 
was found for a preliminary run. The Johnston Harvester Co. 
people declared their inaljility to work, for much the same 
reason ; they, like Howard, had adopted what is known in 
America as the Marsh Harvester as the basis of their invention, 
and, having had a trial on Saturday, were satisfied that they were 
not in such a condition of efficiency as to compete. It will be 
seen that, later on, they were brought out, and the efficiency of 
the string band and the knot was made evident. Of Hether- 
